Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. The Unpleasant Penguins from Pluto, written by Dav Pilkey, art by Dan Santat, reviewed by Debra Gantz

Summary:  Yet another raukous episode of Ricky and his Mighty Robot where there is a greedy and grumpy leader of Pluto upset about the renaming of the once planet to a ball of gas. The story begins with Ricky learning that sometimes his response to things can be rude and he should consider making amends to his cousin Lucy. Meanwhile the President of Pluto is heading out on his plan to attack Earth. There has to be a Flip O Rama scene in this series and in this one Mighty Robot is thwarted in a surprising turn of events! Lucy has been to what she thought was a castle, but turns out to be the rocket ship that brought the invaders. Of course, there is a lot of humor along the way in the latter chapters and Ricky and his Mighty Robot will save the day! Very simple chapters supported well with amazing full color illustrations that engage readers.

I have always felt this series to be better than Captain Underpants, but my students resoundingly choose undergarment humor. I did get more students this year reading Mighty Robot and I am pleased to have this title to add to my collection!  These two masters of children's book writing and illustrating continue to impress in this edition.

Straight Talk for Librarians:  Dav Pilkey remains the master of the early reader novel, especially when you need silliness and wild action with a flip o rama section for added joy! The illustrations by Dan Santat will increase the smiles for this title.